“While last week’s storm never erupted into thunder, musical lightning struck twice here with yet another exuberant, water-resistant stand by Guerrero…Conducting with his pointer fingers rather than a baton, and sporting a new goatee, Guerrero led a sparky, whistle-clean run of Hailstork’s eight-minute curtain raiser. But when the music dissipated into quietude — recalling a boat drifting far off from shore, surrounded only by blue horizon — Guerrero guided the music with expansive ease…In all, it endorsed Guerrero’s warhorse chops as enthusiastically as his new-music acumen. Rain or shine, Grant Park is looking like a fair place to be under his baton.”

“Guerrero is a charismatic conductor, endearing the audience with his onstage commentary and compelling podium presence alike. He’s a pleasure to watch, conducting sans baton throughout the night with deliberate and scrutable direction.”

“Guerrero and the first-rate Grant Park Orchestra compellingly negotiated the work’s rapidly shifting mood and feel, bringing apt punch to the propulsive, rhythmically charged motifs for which Bernstein is well known and emotional nuance to the quiet, vulnerable moments with just a handful of instruments.”

“The conductor revealed himself a gifted and idiomatic Mahlerian, insightful yet individual and willing to take risks.”

“Even with the evening’s deluge, the music-making by the Grant Park Orchestra musicians was unaffected, with Guerrero leading energetic, polished performances to launch his inaugural season as the festival’s new chief conductor.”

“Giancarlo Guerrero and the Frankfurter Opern- und Museumsorchester impressively explore the fine nuances of this score. With filigree precision and wonderfully coordinated dynamics, the orchestra let the shimmering textures and lyrical bows come alive. The balance between the instrument groups was excellent, and Guerrero’s sensitive direction highlighted the delicate elegance of this music...

The concert was an extraordinary listening experience that impressively demonstrated the diversity and emotional range of the works presented. Giancarlo Guerrero once again proved that he is a conductor of remarkable stylistic flexibility and musical enthusiasm.”

“La gran profesionalidad y el trabajo realizado por Giancarlo Guerrero con la Orquesta, exigente a la vez que creativo, resultó en una magnífica velada.

The great professionalism and work realized by Giancarlo Guerrero with the Orchestra, at once demanding and creative, resulted in a magnificent evening. ★★★★★ ”

“Conductor Giancarlo Guerrero and his Polish forces deliver exceptionally powerful and enchanting performances. Wow.”

“[Guerrero’s] curatorial and interpretive creativity set a high bar… Something tells me Guerrero will have no problem leaving his mark.”

“Guerrero allowed each section of the orchestra to blossom fully while in the spotlight. But he melded the changes of mood and texture into a seamless, engaging whole. The players were obviously listening closely to one another, making the piece sound spontaneous and fresh.”

“Guerrero demonstrated a robust conducting style, and the orchestra delivered”

“Guerrero elicited precise playing from the orchestra in his well-defined and articulated interpretation that was both bold and effusive.”

“There’s nothing understated about the conducting of the Grammy award-winning Guerrero, as pugnacious as his surname might suggest, but also given to a bit of dancefloor shimmying on the podium. A showpiece like Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra suited him well, with the virtuoso playing from the BBCNOW in every department – sounding brilliantly in the Brangwyn Hall acoustic – allowing him to bring a raw, rhythmic bite to the music.”

“From the outset Guerrero’s conducting was marked by a sense of carefully sketched-out space, a sonic architecture of crystalline clarity.”

“Guerrero and the orchestra made every moment of it sizzle.”

“Visiting conductor Giancarlo Guerrero, who has been engaged with this work since its 2022 premiere, deftly held the pieces together. By implicitly placing today’s activism in relationship to these sharply etched moments drawn from the history of the struggle, ‘Her Story’ ultimately sounds both a viscerally moving tribute and a forceful call to continue the fight”

“Guerrero layered the various elements with care and restraint.”

“A baton-less Guerrero kept the orchestral forces churning in a fiery zest that, by the end, brought the audience to its feet.”

“He had a terrific partner, too, in Giancarlo Guerrero, the Costa Rican conductor whose 13-year tenure as music director of the Nashville Symphony has given that orchestra a reputation for adventurous programming and execution. Guerrero’s San Francisco Symphony debut revealed a performer of seemingly unstoppable energy, a quality that infused the entire program.

...it certainly gave an enticing glimpse of Guerrero’s muscular, extroverted conducting style, and of his wide-ranging musical interests.

Throughout the afternoon, Guerrero proved a vibrant, commanding podium figure, with a clear and exacting beat and a gift for shifting between ferocity and tenderness. I’m already looking forward to his return.”

“You will not find a livelier, more volcanic conversationalist than Guerrero in classical music, and certainly not a more ferocious advocate for music education.”

“Guerrero — the music director of the Nashville Symphony and a grinning presence with expressive fingers and a shiny suit — led a subtly energetic performance, bringing out both the delicacy and the darkness in the third movement and the Schubertian wistfulness in the fourth.”

“The uniformly first rate performances by members of the São Paulo Symphony under the vital and sensitive direction of Giancarlo Guerrero are excellently engineered, making the whole disc a joy from start to finish–a true voyage of discovery and delight.”

“Giancarlo Guerrero, who has demonstrated his flair for contemporary music in previous visits, had the rhythmic challenges under control... Guerrero, the chorus, and the children’s choir created a pulsing, glowing nimbus of comforting sound.”

“Of all the conductor relationships the Boston Symphony Orchestra has built over the last decade, the partnership with Giancarlo Guerrero has proven to be one of the most satisfying”

“Guerrero’s reading was smartly paced, thoughtfully shaped, and well-balanced...Guerrero drew playing of vibrant energy and precision from the BSO. ”

“Guerrero led with a sense of occasion. In the Sanctus movement, “Hosanna in excelsis!” burst forth with the fullest fortissimo heard in many weeks. And in the closing In Paradisum, the conductor drew out the music’s sublime tranquility, showcasing the crystalline voices of the children’s choir.”

“Under the direction of its newly appointed music director, Giancarlo Guerrero, the ensemble gave a strong performance that sparkled with myriad orchestral timbres and precise rhythmic drive…Under Guerrero, the Wrocław Philharmonic displayed precision and an endless tonal palette. Their command of rhythm contributed to a contagious performance.”

“(Guerrero) oozes self-confidence and, what is even more valuable in conductors, genuine mastery. That was generally the rule in this splendid concert.”

“a mature orchestra led by a conductor with unparalleled flair and passion…A generous double encore was quite possibly the most delightful example this reviewer has ever seen of a conductor as one with his orchestra.”

“Leading the ensemble was conductor Giancarlo Guerrero, who also serves as music director of the Nashville Symphony and principal guest conductor of Lisbon’s Gulbenkian Orchestra. Atop his stellar command of coordination, Guerrero was a dramatic delight to watch, adding visual weight to the concert’s most climactic moments and enlivening those that were more routine.”

“Among the various conductors who have made a commitment to program contemporary American music, Giancarlo Guerrero and his Nashville Symphony Orchestra have had an exceptional record in locating and realizing music that is both rigorous and accessible.”

“Giancarlo Guerrero, a five-time Grammy winner whose charismatic conducting and attention to detail brought to life the Mahler “Resurrection” Symphony in a performance that drew sustained cheers from the audience. Vigorously cuing the orchestra with incisive and emphatic gestures, Guerrero left no doubt about the depth of his acquaintance with the Mahler.”

“Guerrero, music director of the Nashville Symphony, is a pillar of the Cleveland Orchestra family, a relative rarely far removed and always welcome…the orchestra had a guaranteed winner on its hands, and succeeded once again in sending listeners home with much for which to be thankful.”

“Under the baton of Giancarlo Guerrero…the whole evening was about as electrifying as Tanglewood can be.”

“As the orchestra played the Ninth Symphony’s final, soothing D-flat major chord, a tonality that all but evaporates into a mist of silence, one could hear a proverbial pin drop inside the Schermerhorn...His interpretation of Mahler’s last completed symphony (and de facto final testament) was spectacular from beginning to end...an unforgettable experience”

“With a million facial expressions and body gestures, Guerrero is a trip to watch. But close your eyes and you’ll hear showmanship and accuracy both. Without chatting up the audience, he still exudes personality while keeping the focus on the music. SPAC should keep bringing him back regularly.”

“The Houston Grand Opera Orchestra, led by Giancarlo Guerrero, lashed out ferociously as Butterfly’s plight bore down on her. But the transparency, sweetness and poetry that Guerrero and the group brought Puccini’s lyricism were even more arresting.”

“Giancarlo Guerrero, principal guest conductor for the orchestra’s Miami residency, is an expert accompanist. He deftly blended and balanced Rodrigo’s piquant wind and string writing without overpowering his soloist. Rhythms were crisp and snappy, the unison violins sounded lustrous and brash trumpet interjections in the finale perked up the ears…Guerrero managed to bring out the poetry amid Respighi’s wide-screen panorama of orchestral colors.”

“Giancarlo Guerrero, principal guest conductor of the Clevelanders’ Miami residency, excels at large-scale orchestral showpieces and he was clearly in his element with this massive 50-minute work.”

“If you didn’t leave this orchestral riot feeling a little woozy, you probably missed something…Whether the BSO chose Giancarlo Guerrero to conduct [Adams’ “Harmonielehre],” or he chose it to conduct, the match seemed like an ideal fit. His all-over-the-podium energy communicated itself to the oversized orchestra, which coped heroically with minimalism’s piled-up rhythms and repetitions.”